The Uttarakhand Police, with the help of the Special Task Force (STF), recently busted a gang of international cybercriminals, arresting two individuals involved in running fake business accounts for money laundering. The accused, Harjinder Singh and Sandeep Singh, were arrested near Zila Panchayat Chungi on Thanon Road, under the Raipur Police Station area.
The police discovered a significant amount of funds in the form of cryptocurrency on the suspects’ mobile phones. Harjinder and Sandeep were allegedly providing fake business accounts to other cybercriminals to facilitate illegal financial transactions with international gangs, using cryptocurrency for global money exchanges.
This operation follows a recent case where the Indian government repatriated 540 citizens trafficked to Myanmar by a Chinese cybercrime network, with 22 of the victims hailing from Uttarakhand. In response, the state formed an STF, under the leadership of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Bhullar, to investigate the growing cybercrime issue.
During the investigation, a joint probe by the STF, CBI, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) led to the recovery of several crucial items from the accused, including a laptop, seven mobile phones, a passport, chequebooks, debit cards, PAN cards, a passbook, and various stamped bank forms.
According to officials, Harjinder and Sandeep used the encrypted messaging app Telegram to connect with criminals worldwide, creating fake accounts under various firm names for illegal transactions. They would receive payments in cryptocurrency (USDT) and charge a 1% fee per transaction, converting the funds into Indian currency. Over the past year, the duo reportedly made Rs 1.2 crore in profits, including Rs 25 lakh in March alone.
